Research by IDC highlights a quarter of businesses use a hybrid approach to application hosting, splitting their apps between the cloud and on-premises.

The research found 40% of organisations say they segregate on and off-premise environments, and 31% of businesses host front-end technology on the public cloud.

Giorgio Nebuloni, research director of IDC European Infrastructure Group, said to CloudPro: “Connecting cloud environments with ad hoc bridges in a hybrid fashion won’t be enough in 2018.

“Nor will standardising on one external provider, at least for large or innovative companies. Developers and line of business require ‘best of breed,’ and the purchasing department wants to avoid being locked in.”

More than 30% of IT decision makers believe it makes more sense to use one or two large IaaS/PaaS or SaaS providers.

Nebuloni added: “Digital innovators such as ING Bank and Siemens want to consume cloud content from several cloud locations while maintaining maximum flexibility.

“This gives incredible freedom to users, but it creates challenges for CIOs. We believe a multi-cloud strategy based on hiring staff with negotiation skills, expanding investments in automation software, and revising cross-country connectivity options is a must for IT departments supporting innovative organisations.”

IDC surveyed 800 IT and line-of-business decision makers in 11 European countries.

Written by Leah Alger